Monday, September 20

What Are Fresh Black Currants? Not Dried Currants and Not Raisins.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "currant"? Raisins? Scones? The Brits? It's a confusing matter. So after purchasing a basket of fresh black currants at the Little Italy Mercato a couple of weeks ago, I did some sleuthing on the internet. Here's what I have learned about the differences between fresh black currants, dried black currants, and raisins.

Fresh black currants are small, round, glossy, black berries that pack a tart punch. They are related to red currants, white currants, and gooseberries; they are NOT grapes.

Dried black currants,also called Zante currants, are dried Corinth grapes, so technically they are raisins. With their black, wrinkly skins and sweet flavor, they look, smell, and taste just like traditional raisins.

Where can you buy fresh black currants? In cool, rainy places such as the UK. In the US, the Pacific Northwest and northern California grow fresh currants which can be found at farmers' markets and organic markets. They're also sometimes found in the freezer section of organic and specialty markets.

How do you cook with fresh black currants? Fresh black currants are most often used to make jams and jellies, ice cream and sorbet, schnapps, and pies. They're also delicious in baked goods such as scones, muffins, and cakes. Fresh black currants have a savory side too: they make a tangy sauce for meats such as chicken, pork, and lamb and can be tossed into salads. If you have a recipe calling for fresh black currants and can't find them, then blackberries and gooseberries make good substitutes.

What are the health benefits of fresh black currants? Fresh black currants are high in vitamin C and potassium. They're also are rich, little nuggets of antioxidants (2X the antioxidants of blueberries!) which help reduce inflammation and may help lower your risk of cancer.

Now it's time to get cooking with fresh black currants, so check out the tempting list of recipes below.

Ooooo ... I've never seen fresh black currants! They are totally my favorite, they're less sweet than raisins and since they're tiny, a smaller volume stretches further, important since dried fruit has such dense calories. Fun, Susan!

last summer, my roommate took one of her friend's CSA shares over for her while she was on vacation and we got red currants. We had no idea what the were and made jam out of them, after some extensive research. Delicious! I would love to find black currants, these recipes sound awesome. Thanks for all the info!

You make me SO jealous. Did i tell you that in your last post that used fresh figs AND black currants. Both things that I've only tried in their non fresh and/or flavored form. I have some black currant bushed i planted outside my grandmothers house. but it might be years till i benefit from them. one day....